England December 1940

Christmas was just another sad reminder that Alice was not helping her brothers in the war it was also a reminder that she had failed. Just because she was a girl, one of the three at camp, she had had to fight for a place in the battle. At least she wasn't black. If she had been black she would have had to chance.

Alice did not want to admit it but she was scared. She'd never been to England before. It wasn't much different from America but it was a hugely different at the same time. The Blitz made life hell for everyone at first and there were hardly any children in London anymore. She had heard of a few kids that had stayed but she never saw them.

Her radio squeaked and buzzed as she twisted the knob. She had been playing with it for so long she was being to think she'd never get the message, or in fact that she had missed it. She stook herself that sort of thinking got people killed. Then she caught the end of a sentence. "Help...someone...help me"

It was a boy's voice. Even if it was a whisper he screamed desperation. But Alice was confused. Only demigods from camp could use this frequency. This kid couldn't be from camp. She didn't know what to do. She could reply, or maybe she could...if she just could. She rolled over to where her bag was. She had been lucking getting the bag before clothing rations settled in.

Inside her bag were the essentials; food, water, sheets. Her handgun a Colt standard*, was on her belt but she even then she felt naked without her Brenda**. She frowned if her brothers would wring her neck for losing that. In the middle of the war and she didn't all she had was a Swiss army knife and her back up gun not exactly the best weaponry one would hope for.

If she was a Hephaestus she would have had the radio working as quick as a bullet shot. But sadly she wasn't and with no help available she set to work. After what seemed like a millennia she thought she'd done it. The sun had set; the moon has risen and moved across the sky. The bombs would probably come soon but she just couldn't get that boy's voice out her head.

He had sounded so scared to weak do anything on his own and somehow she felt an overwhelming ogre to help the boy. She did not think to question why she just did. She tried to talk. "Hello…are you there?"

"Oh yes..!Are you angel? Have you come to save me, take me to heaven? Please come quick…if not…the bad men will find me" His voice was both excited and fearful.

"Where are you?"

"I…don't…London"

"Where?"

"I…I…please, they are coming…take me to heaven." But there was no heaven. No place in the sky for all the good people. But who was really good anyway? To defeat evil you usually had to be evil yourself. If you don't you are sloth and sent to hell, either way hell is the only option not excactly good odds.

"Listen to me. I'm coming to help you but you have to tell me where you are, please" The boy swallowed loudly.

"I…I'm underground…please if the train comes…it'll be too late…I won't be able to make them leave…angel?" Alice's mind raced. He was in a subway somewhere. But where? Anyway the trains shouldn't be active at this time of night; they were hardly active in the day.

"Okay…I'll be there soon, can you see a sign? Anything?"

"I…I might, through the door…but…if they come…they'll find me…I don't…"

"Hey, it's ok, I'm going to help you but you need to tell me what the sign says. Alright?"

"Oh…okay…I'll find the sign…" There was movement and she heard a door open. A little gasp and the door was closed shut instantly. "…I…I saw it…the train's coming…please…come…save me. The sign…it said Nightingale Lane…please come…save me" And that's exactly what she meant to do. This kid was going to be saved, and then she was going to find out how he got a camp radio.

(*) Colt M1911A1: America standard hand gun up until the 1980s

(**) Bren light machine gun